The Nutcracker Tea Is Back at Ford House, and the Shores' Holiday Season Now Runs Past Christmas
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
In Grosse Pointe Shores, holiday plans for December now get settled in the first week of November. The public sale for Ford House's revived Nutcracker Tea opens Friday, November 6, three days after the Friends presale. The other ticketed dates on Lake Shore Road run from the day after Thanksgiving to the weekend after Christmas.
Two changes this year explain why the season fills up earlier. A tea that had been gone for more than a decade is back. And Home for the Holidays, the estate's largest annual event, now continues after December 25. Both changes add capacity to a calendar that guests were already filling.
The Nutcracker Tea returns Saturday, December 12, "after more than ten years away," according to Ford House's event page. There are two seatings, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., in the Lake Shore Room at the Visitor Center. A child's tea set will be on display in an exhibition case at The Cove during the event.
Ford House is open about why it brought the tea back:
"Past guests shared so many fond memories of this tea, and those memories brought it back."
That fits what the estate said when it announced its 2026 season in December 2025. The announcement listed the return of the Nutcracker Tea, an expanded concert lineup and "additional seasonal enhancements," and said the updates "reflect guest feedback." President and CEO Mark J. Heppner put it in the same announcement: "Our guests come to Ford House to celebrate, reflect, and make memories together."
Tickets are sold by the table. Prices for Friends of Ford House and the public:
| Table size | Friends | Public |
|---|---|---|
| Two | $80 | $96 |
| Three | $120 | $144 |
| Four | $160 | $192 |
The Friends presale opened November 3. The public sale begins November 6 at 10 a.m., and RSVPs close November 29 at 5 p.m. The event page already lists the 10 a.m. seating as sold out and shows limited tickets for 1 p.m., so check it before you plan the day around a time slot.
Ford House suggests a full itinerary for each seating. Morning guests can add the guided holiday tour of the Main Residence at noon, then have brunch at The Continental. Afternoon guests are pointed to The Shop, hot cocoa from The Speedster, and a walk around the winter grounds.
The Nutcracker Tea is one of two teas this season. The other, Holiday Tea & Tour, comes six days earlier on Sunday, December 6. It starts with a glass of champagne and includes music by the Florella Strings and tea from The Spice and Tea Exchange of Grosse Pointe. Each table gets a handout on Albert Kahn, the architect who designed the estate, to carry on the self-guided house tour afterward. Eleanor Ford's tea caddies will be on display in the Drawing Room, and there's a vendor market in The Cove. Tables run from $140 for two Friends to $320 for four public guests. As with the Nutcracker Tea, the page lists the 10 a.m. seating as sold out and the 1 p.m. seating as limited.
When Ford House announced its 2026 season in December 2025, the 2025 edition of Home for the Holidays was "welcoming visitors through Dec. 21." The same release said the walk draws nearly 8,000 visitors a year and that the estate expected even more that season.
The 2026 schedule goes further. Home for the Holidays opens Friday, November 27, and its last two nights are Saturday and Sunday, December 26 and 27. The full set of dates is November 27 and 28, then December 4 and 5, 11 and 12, 18 through 20, and 26 and 27. Hours are 5:30 to 8 p.m. Adult tickets cost $18 for Friends and $24 for the public. Children ages 3 to 17 cost $10 or $12, and children 2 and under get in free.
The two late dates come with one catch. Santa is at Home for the Holidays through Sunday, December 20, and won't be there on December 26 or 27. The event page says so directly and suggests families who want to see Santa pick a date on or before the 20th. That makes the post-Christmas nights a quieter version of the walk. They suit houseguests who arrived for the holiday, or anyone who wants the lights after the rush.
The visit has three parts. First, a half-mile walk from the Visitor Center Plaza past Jingle Junction at Josephine's Playhouse, through the Formal Garden, above the Rose Garden lit in red and white, and past a Christmas train display at the Recreation Building. Next, a self-paced visit through both floors of the Main Residence, decorated in Eleanor Ford's understated style. Last, a walk past the Mistletoe Market and back through Maple Lane. Plan on 60 to 90 minutes. All parking is in the Visitor Center lot, and there is no shuttle because the estate roads are part of the walking route. The event runs rain, snow or shine, and it has placed in the top four of USA TODAY's 10Best Holiday Historic Home Tour two years running.
The map currently on the page is labeled as the 2025 version and "subject to change," so the exact 2026 route could differ slightly.
Home for the Holidays is only part of the calendar. Daytime events at Ford House and the city's own lighting fall on the same weekends, and a few days have something both morning and night.
| Date | Daytime | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | The Shop's Grand Holiday Reveal, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | |
| Fri.–Sat., Nov. 27–28 | Home for the Holidays opens | |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Photos with Santa at Ford House | Lighting of the Village, 6 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Home for the Holidays; Thornetta Davis, Christmas Concert Over the Cove, 7 p.m. | |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Holiday Tea & Tour; Photos with Santa | |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Nutcracker Tea | Home for the Holidays |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | Brunch with Santa | Home for the Holidays, Santa's last night |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 26–27 | Home for the Holidays, no Santa |
December 4 is the busiest night on the estate. Detroit blues and soul vocalist Thornetta Davis performs the Christmas Concert Over the Cove from 7 to 9 p.m., with doors at 6:30, on the same night the lighted walk is running. Concert tickets are $45 for Friends and $55 for the public. Friends get one complimentary drink ticket, and there's a cash bar.
Photos with Santa also runs on Wednesdays, December 2, 9 and 16, in addition to the Sunday dates in the table. The first hour of every session is sensory-friendly, and child tickets are $25 for Friends and $35 for the public. Brunch with Santa on December 20 has two seatings, 9 to 10:30 a.m. and noon to 1:30 p.m. Its menu and prices hadn't been posted yet.
Ticket windows and seating sizes suggest a sensible order for booking the season:
For food around the events, The Continental serves modern American dining with a full bar and patio seating overlooking Ford Cove. Brunch runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner runs Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. The Speedster, the estate's quick-service counter, handles coffee and grab-and-go food. The dining page lists Thanksgiving, November 26, and Christmas Day, December 25, as holiday closures for The Continental, so plan those two meals elsewhere.
Grosse Pointe Shores' Lighting of the Village is listed in the city's 2026 calendar for Sunday, November 29, at 6 p.m. In recent years it has been held at City Hall, 795 Lake Shore Road. A 2023 C&G Newspapers notice described Santa and Christmas Carol, holiday carols, hot chocolate and cookies, and children sharing their wish lists. The city hasn't posted this year's program yet, so check the Grosse Pointe Shores city site closer to the date.
It falls on the same Sunday as the season's first Photos with Santa session at Ford House, a short distance along Lake Shore Road. If you'd like to see both on November 29, go to the estate in the afternoon and head to City Hall for the 6 p.m. lighting.
If you have family coming to the Shores for the holidays and want to talk through where to take them between the tea and the lighted walk, I'm glad to share what I know about this stretch of Lake Shore Road. You can reach me any time through Closing and Toasting.
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